


Pragma Pandemos

by TrashBunnysFanfics



Category: Greek Mythology
Genre: Origin Story, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:47:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashBunnysFanfics/pseuds/TrashBunnysFanfics
Summary: Follow the story and the myths of this Minor god finding her role in the world of ancient Greece among the other gods of Olympus.
Relationships: None
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing this mostly for fun, this fanfic contains my own interpretations of some of the myths and Gods of Greek Mythology, so if you're looking for accuracy, this isn't the place for you, but that doesn't mean i won't at least do some research beforehand at least, anywho, enjoy this hot mess with absolutely no fancy words or anything like the other Greek Mythology fanfiction you may or may not seen before.

TW: Kidnapping, major character deaths, suicide, suicidal thoughts, sickness, collapse, brainwashing, rape (insinuative).

Pragma’s story begins when a childless couple of sculptors started to have thoughts about having their own children together, however such a thing wasn’t possible due to the woman being infertile, they tried -- everything, special medicine, rituals, worshiping Aphrodite but nothing would work.  
Tired of what was happening the couple decided to check the oracle to see if there was really no way for them to have a child and the oracle said, “You must carve the image of your child in stone, then go to the temple a temple of Dionysus and ask for his blessing in the form of wine. Afterwards you must go to a temple of Aphrodite and ask for her blessing in the form of milk. Bathe the statue in both of these liquids and you shall see the results in the morning.”  
And so they embarked on an adventure to finally raise a child of their own, the statue was sculpted and both of the rewards were retrieved from the temples, they washed the whole statue from head to toe and left it in an art room where they would check in the morning. Morning came and when they went out to check on the statue it had disappeared, fearing they were tricked by the oracle they decided that the first thing they should do was check on them again, but, as they were about to leave, they heard a sound coming from the outside, in the garden to be more exact.  
When they got there, both saw a woman wrapped in sheets eating an apple from their tree, the wife was scared that she was a robber but upon closer inspection the husband noticed the faint smell of milk and wine, coming to the conclusion that the woman was their statue turned into a real human being. They slowly walked closer to her so as to not startle her and when she saw them she ran towards them and gave them a hug, already being certain that those were her parents, both got emotional and hugged their child back, thanking the Gods for such a beautiful blessing, and so their child was named Callie.  
Callie was a pretty and kind woman, a little shy towards those she wasn’t familiar with but she seemed to have inherited her parents’ love for the arts, she would help with their chores, paint pots with them and assist them in any shape or form. However, she seemed to have also inherited Aphrodite’s beauty with her touch upon being brought to life, because almost everyday many kings would appear in their property to ask if their daughter would like to marry their sons, suitors would make a line in front of the the home just to at least see the beauty of this mysterious woman, and there were even times they would go out of their way to enter their place without being invited just to talk to her, thankfully her parents were always keeping an eye on her.  
Until one night, when Callie was going back home with her mother, two burglars appeared, stabbed the mother in the chest and placed a sack over Callie’s head, then disappeared into the night. The body of the woman was found in the morning by some local farmers who warned her husband about it but there was no sign of Callie, he looked all over the town for his daughter but gained nothing from his search. In the next morning, he received a message and said that in order for them to return his daughter he would just need to give them all of his fortune, his house and his food.  
Meanwhile, Callie’s head was finally freed from the sack so she could see her surroundings, she was in a place full of barrels, possibly full of wine, there were brooms and shovels on the wall to her left, and wooden boxes all over the place. Someone walked in from the door right in front of her, they were wearing a mask so she couldn’t have known who it was, the person leaned closer to her until their faces were centimeters away and said, “You’ll do as we say, if you wish to live”, then the person pulled out a knife and added, “or else.”  
While in captivity, she was ordered to make food and clean some things the captors had, making her think she was in their own house, then she was asked to take care of the family’s farm animals, finally, when they gave her food they said she could sacrifice some of her food to at least one god, and upon hearing that she thought long and hard about it and chose a god to pray for, Aphrodite, she didn’t know why her gut thought of her specifically but maybe it could be a sign, then when she was placed back in her place, the guard in charge felt the urge to talk to Callie, she didn’t understand but carried on the conversation anyway, afterwards the guy confessed that he felt attraction towards her but she refused his feelings, making him go aggressive and grab that knife used to in the threatening to kill her, however, that was when the other captors came and stopped him.  
The guy told them that Callie enchanted him to fall in love with her but neither of them believed in his claims, the man became more violent and decided to threaten her again, the other captors tried to stop him but only got in the way of his blade, both fell on the floor while a pool of blood was forming underneath them, the murderer then looked at Callie and said “if i can’t have you, nobody will”, suddenly two guards appeared by breaking down the door and stopped the last captor, upon seeing the scene before them both came into the conclusion that the captor has killed them both, however the man said that he was ordered by Callie to kill them, what convinced them was the fact that both were drawn towards her just like the murderer, so they arrested her instead, right in front of her father.  
The money that was reserved for the kidnappers was used to lessen the sentence given by the judge in Callie’s trial, she was going to be exiled with her father for “ordering to kill her captors”, and so they were moved to a small cabin in a field, everything they had was stripped away, the cozy home, the loving wife and mother, and all the artwork that was sold in order to get the land where the cabin was. Callie felt guilty for what has happened despite her father reassuring her that nothing that happened back then was her fault, but she still felt like she ruined everything for her father, so in order to repay for what she has done, she decided to make enough money alone to get their home back. She managed to get into many positions during her lifetime, working as a servant for many different important people and heroes of the time, helping wives raise their children, and using her beauty to her advantage to sell a service for anyone that wished to spend a night in bed with her, and everything seemed to be going well for the family of two, they had food on the table, warm clothing from the cold nights, and her father was getting into arts again, until it came a fateful day.  
It started with small coughs during lunch that could have been caused by swallowing food the wrong way, but then they got more severe, to the point the man would collapse on the floor until blood came out of his mouth. Medics were called and sadly the man wouldn’t survive until the end of his days, all that was given was a treatment for the coughing but nothing could be done, he was at death's door.  
The daughter of the sculptor however did not give up, she continued to gain more money with all of her services and did everything to make sure her father had the most comfortable last days of his life, however no money brought the smile the man had when he lived in his big house with a beautiful wife and amazing arts, making Callie feel more guilty as the days progressed, even when the man insisted that everything was fine.  
One night when coming back home from another night of work, she saw her father collapsed on the floor away from the bed he was suppose to rest on until it was time. She helped him get up and placed him back but he kept on walking to wherever he wanted to go, when questioned the father only replied with “your….mother”, while weakly pointing at a table that had a vase with lavenders in it. This behaviour continued until the daughter just couldn’t take it anymore and asked what exactly he wanted, he said the same thing he would say whenever they spoke after the first incident, but after analysing the situation a bit better she guessed that he wanted to vase in his arms, so she did what her gut told her and handed him the vase, the man gave his child a genuine smile, slowly reaching to her with his frail hand, she caught it and tears started flowing from her eyes, that was when he told her the importance of that vase.  
He was young and had just started his career as an artist, but no one would praise his work, only one girl from his town, that was when he decided to do everything for her, he made vases, paintings, sculptures, everything, just to see her smile. Those actions brought interest to the girl and she eventually joined him in the ways of the arts, together they made marvelous pieces of work, the first being that same vase, but, the only thing they couldn’t make together was a child of their own, until he spoke to the oracle on a very fateful day, that was seen by him as one of the best things that has happened in his life.  
Tears continued to flow down her cheeks but she kept her smile for her father’s sake, she then placed his hand on her cheek and he started to cry as well while trying but failing to clean the tear drops from his baby girl’s eyes. Both slept peacefully through the night, however only one of them woke up, the sun was still rising when it happened, she was visited by a strange figure, they wore a cloak, held a scythe in their hands and their eyes were cold as ice, they made eye contact for a brief moment, she felt like her heart skipped a beat, as if she had saw them somewhere, they were familiar, but there was no time for questions, as the figure simply disappeared, leaving Callie alone with the lifeless body of her dear father.  
The days that came after were too hard to handle, and the fact that she was always reminded by of it due to the empty bed next to hers made it worst, she became a shadow of who she once was, a lifeless body with only its will to live being able to move it forward, even in times she questioned if it was there to begin with. She would hear many comments from the people in the town nearby, some even went as far as to accuse her of killing her own father, so many baseless accusations were thrown but she didn’t have the time to deal with it all, she had to keep going, if not for herself then it would be for those that left this plain.  
Some were so convinced that she was behind it all people stopped accepting her services as a maid and servant, but no one questioned her position as a hetaera, some nights were hard to finish because of her grief, which had resulted in her clients getting too selfish and greedy to the point they just demanded she would do her job properly or else they would do it themselves, one night went so badly she ran away to the middle of the woods until she came back to her home, where she locked every door and window until it was early morning.  
The time passed but she never grew old, that was when the town’s people were fully convinced that she was not from this world and decided to kill her with their own hands. She was hunted by the town’s people, the woods were burned, her house was destroyed, all that belonged to her was gone, she was chased after by those that once claimed to see her as their equal, as if she was some sort of ferocious beast that shouldn’t even exist. She found herself cornered on a cliff, down bellow was the ocean and on the other side a angry crowd of people, she thought about her decisions in that moment, she thought about the parents she would meet again in the underworld, maybe the afterlife would be kinder to her, maybe the fall wouldn’t be that painful. She took a deep breath and started to walk backwards, not watching her step, then she fell, in that very moment she felt alive after years of grieving and yearning for the life she once had, she cursed to herself, saying that she was a mistake, she closed her eyes, then the gemstone on her chest started to glow.  
She started to float and ascended from the cliff, her eyes were full of rage, how dare they see her as such, who do they think they are, they should think better before going against her. She looked at the people with a cold stare, then suddenly everyone started to scream in fear, then they turned into painful yells, then turning into cries of help, finally, each one of them ran towards her and one by one, then they fell off the cliff, leaving Callie alone once again, or so she thought.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A disscussion with the mysterious figure makes Callie travel to a somewhat unknown world, where her expectations are about to be destroyed and a new role for her is given after she has lost everything.

The mysterious figure appeared before her again, same scythe, same cloak, and same cold eyed stare, and just like last time, they make eye contact for what it feels like a lifetime and so the figure takes this opportunity to leave but it’s interrupted by Callie suddenly grabbing their arm.  
Her eyes were full of tears and her body was shaking as if it was freezing, she dropped to her knees, still holding the figure’s arm, and asked in a weak tone, “did i really just kill them?”.  
The figure doesn’t know how to respond so they keep their silence, however Callie doesn’t keep her mouth shut and immediately starts to ask the figure about themselves,where did they come from, if they have met before, and most importantly, who they are. The figure looks around, sighs, and decides to answer the woman’s questions, they sit on the edge of the cliff and the cloaked one finally decides to put away their hood, revealing their short snow white hair, grey skin and dark eyes, “my name is Thanatos, i’m the embodiment of death and it is my duty to bring the souls of the dead to the entrance of the underworld so they can start their transition after they die”, Callie cleans some of her tears and takes a deep breath before she said, “so they are really dead”, “yes, and soon enough the furies will come down and judge you for your crimes”, “but i didn’t intent to kill anyone, i don’t even know how i did it to begin with”, he looked at her with a confused expression and asked “is that really true? You did not know you were capable of such a thing?” “no! I don't have any idea of where that came from, am I cursed?!”, Thanatos looked at her, then at the sky and thought to himself the possibilities that could potentially lead her to have such abilities, and he came up with one, but it was too risky, so he got up and said, “look, i have a job to do, i need to collect the souls that you just threw in the ocean, but if you really want to know, i suggest you to look for the oracle”, then he jumped down into the ocean and never came back up, leaving Callie at the cliff that which she walked away from to get her answers from the oracle.

When she got there, she was told that she could only get her answers if she made a offer to Hades’ temple, when asked what she should bring the oracle just said it should be something with high sentimental value to her, making the girl walk back to her burned house to see if there was at least something intact that she could use. She looked around in the burned pieces of the house but couldn't find a single thing that could be offered to the king of the underworld, until she spotted the vase her father held during his last days with her, it was chipped but it was untouched by the flames, she grabbed it and started on her journey to Hades’ temple.  
It took her at least a month to get there, the place seemed to be abandoned and in a bad state, but the statues remained untouched, she walked to the main hall to deliver her offer, she placed the vase down and whispered to herself “please, give me an answer, i swear...i didn’t know what i was doing, i didn’t know i was capable of such thing, i’m not even sure what exactly i am anymore, so please, Lord of the dead, give me an answer”. Since she didn't have her home anymore, she decided to settle down in the temple itself, she placed the only blanket she had on the floor and slept there in the cold.  
During the night a cold breeze comes through the temple, making Callie shake despite the warm sheet covering her, but it felt more like the cold was not from nature itself, but from a presence in the temple, maybe somebody walked in to make a offer, and since Callie didn’t manage to go back to sleep due to her shivering, she decides that she should investigate, however she doesn’t walk far from her spot, as she sees the figure that has entered the temple, it was a tall figure that seemed to be wearing a robe, they seemed to have been sporting a beard and wore a crown on their head, the silhouette proceeds to pick up the vase she had left and without thinking, Callie walks from where she stood to demand a explanation, saying that she left it there for Hades himself and how exactly they thought they were, immediately getting her answer once the figure turns around and reveals itself as the lord of the underworld. “Foolish mortal, you dare to challenge me?”, Callie proceeded to fall on her knees and bow before the father of lies, “it wasn’t my intention my lord, i simply thought you were a outsider, please, don’t hurt me”, the deity stared at the woman before him, dirty clothes, messy hair, and a weak stature, “Time has done that job for me, are you perhaps the one Thanatos met in one of his visits?”, “Yes my lord, i met the god of death himself, he told me to check the oracle and follow their instructions, which led me here”, “I see….Perhaps you could be useful to me”, she looked up at him in confusion “What do you mean?” “I presume you have nowhere else to go”, she looked down at the floor in shame “something along those lines”, “how about we make a deal? You pledge your soul to me to do me favors in the house of Hades and i shall grant you shelter”, Callie looked at the God of the dead with a conflicted expression, sure, she had nothing else on earth and the oracle did tell her to walk on this path, but where does it lead to? And how would she find out about her abilities? “The sun is going to rise soon, the clock is tick” “i accept it, i’ll be your servant” “very well, just follow my lead and we’ll be there soon”, She got up and followed him outside of the temple.

They walked far away from the temple and entered a dense forest, neither of them spoke, though the king of the dead would occasionally look over his shoulder and see if Callie was still there following him, finally, they reached their destination, a closed cave. “This is….it?” “Sort of, we just need some assistance”, he lifted his hand and a glowing sphere appeared in his hand, extending itself by the seconds and taking the shape of some sort of staff, until it turned into its final form, a bident. He touched the stone at the cave’s entrance with the two ends of his weapon, the ground started to shake, surprising Callie but the god stayed unfazed by it, the stone opened itself as if the ground underneath was falling apart, making the cave accessible for the two to reach the river to the underworld, both stood there, Callie took a moment to look at the God with more attention, he had dark bags under his eyes, his skin was pale and something about his eyes made him seem more like a lost soul rather than a person of authority, before she could proceed with her thoughts a boat came around, being transported by someone hidden in their cloak, who was only letting out loud sighs.

During the whole ride, all parties remained silent, Callie looked down at the water bellow, asking herself if that should be called water in the first place, Hades looked into the beyond of the dark abyss before them and the person hidden in their cloak continued to loudly sigh, with their breaths echoing in the cave. Hades finally decides to break the silence and asks Callie what she has done, when asked what he meant he replies saying that the furies flew off from the underworld in a incredible speed but came back shortly after, as if they came to the realization that they couldn’t judge the person, Callie responded with her story which resulted in Hades arching his eyebrows in surprise and then he looked back at the beyond of the cave lost in his thoughts, making the woman feel she messed something up and her punishment was going to be harsher.  
After a while they go through the entrance of the underworld, guarded by the three head hellhound Cerberus and a bit beyond that entrance is the home of the grief, anxiety, diseases, old age, fear, hunger, need, agony, guilty joys and sleep on one side of the river and on the other there’s war, the furies and Eris, all looking upon the newcomer who was clearly not a shade like the many other passengers of the boat. Further beyond there’s a field where many beasts that were once slayed by heroes were resting, possibly waiting to be reincarnated to continue on their torment, such as centaurs, the hydra, the chimera and the harpies, Callie also managed to catch a glimpse of some of the areas of the underworld, the screams of agony coming from tartarus, the cries of grief from the meadows and a small ray of of what she thought was sunlight coming from the fields of Elysian. Finally they reach their destination, the palace of the king of the dead, a group of colysiums with the symbol of Hades printed in every banner, with golden and silver flowers giving a unique touch to the place, as well as many pomegranate trees planted around the place, Callie was left without words. “I assume this place doesn’t meet your expectations” “i….I’m not sure what i was expecting but...Definitely not this” “That’s what most shades say when they come here to get a second opinion about their judgement, now follow me, i’ll show you where you’ll be staying for the rest of your days as well as your responsibilities” “yes sir, in a moment sir”, she turned around and waved the figure in the boat goodbye, the person in the boat nods and starts their course back to the surface to collect more souls.

As Callie follows the lord of the dead into his home, she notices that the place has much more flora than the surface considering the time of the year, not to mention that the place was rather clean and way more welcoming than of those lords she served before on the surface, and as soon she is seen with lord Hades by his servants, they offer her some food as if she was under the same light as royalty, or at least she thought she was never treated in such ways, making her wonder more if this was a trick made by Hades to make her like the place or that this was the norm and she misjudged the god of the dead. Hades finally decides to speak again while looking at his guest and says that her role in the underworld will to guide those that come for him with Charon on the boat until they reach his desk in his office, then she’ll be feeding Cerberus with the flesh of those who are punished in tartarus, she’ll help his servants organize every document Hermes brings in when a new soul arrives and finally, he wishes she becomes his personal messenger when Hermes isn’t available so he can send letters to his wife, all seems fair to her so she agrees, finally Hades shows her the room she’ll be staying at and it turns out to be even bigger than her room in her old house, Hades then leaves after saying that her first day in the underworld starts tomorrow so she can take a break for the rest of the the day.  
She used this time she had to analyse her room, there was a tapestry of a myth she wasn’t familiar with but it involved a unknown Goddess and Hades hanging on the wall, a big window where she could see the rest of the palace, a empty bookshelf, some chests, a empty closet and a big king sized bed, which she laid on so she could process what happened in the temple up until that point, he seemed curious when she heard of what she has done but found strange how the furies didn’t come for her immediately, she also noticed how all shades looked at her as if she wasn’t like them, maybe there is more to this new job than just serving the god of the dead, maybe she was destined to do more, she would love to think about it more but the warmth of the bed made her fall asleep.

She woke up in a dark room with nothing else to see, then a voice started to talk to her, saying a saying she couldn’t make it out due to the other voices talking over the whisper, then when it got louder she covered her ears but it was useless, finally something fell before her, upon closer inspection it was a bottle with some golden liquid, she opened the bottle and drank it, making the gemstone on her chest glow and two pair of eyes appeared above her and said “your time has come”, then she woke up.


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On her first day of work, Callie finds herself in a situation where her mortal knownledge gets in the way of the bigger picture and thus she places all sorts of labels on the lord of the dead, until reality hits her hard and she is reminded of the flaws of her own kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for mentioning of cannibalism, non-con, abuse and death, proceed at your own risk.

After waking up from her pretty strange dream she got herself out of bed and saw that her closet had some clothes now, she wore the one that matched the colours of the other servants’ clothes and tied her hair into a braid, once she’s out a shade comes by and gives her a piece of paper with her schedule for the day, she’ll be calling some of the souls that died in a recent war and guide them all to Hades, then she’ll be called to feed cerberus and finally she’ll be managing the scrolls of all the new souls that came that day so she can join the other workers at the nightly feast before going back to her room.  
All looks fair for her and she goes on her way to see if Charon has arrived with his boat, which he did so she hops on and thus it begins her new life in the kingdom of the dead.

At the entrance she calls upon the names of the souls she was suppose to bring to Hades, but that immediately shows to be a mistake as many souls try to claim to be the ones she wants to bring with her just to get a second opinion on their judgement and either get a less harsh punishment, a life in the meadows or a place at Elysium. With all of this out of control she takes a moment to sit and think on what to do, Charon comes by and places his skeletal hand on her shoulder in a form of comfort, which she appreciates, and points to two different shades standing next to each other, as if they had something that made them different from one another, that’s when she notices the faint colourantion between them, getting up from the rock she was sitting on and started to ask each shade how they died so she could see if there is a pattern between the colors and the deaths, which turns out to be correct, those killed in a war were red, and to make things better, they all had symbols on their robes that represented one of the gods, as in who they were honouring in their last moments alive, so she got everyone that died in a war and that honored Ares and Athena before dying in a group, then with the help of Charon, she figures out who is really who by calling their names while Charon checked if they have already received judgment once they came to the underworld, which is symbolized by the words written on their right wrist with black paint.

Finally everyone gets on the boat to go see Hades, who they aren’t afraid of because they heard Persephone is there, making Callie turns and ask who is this Persephone person, all of the shades look at her as if she said something very umbelieveable, however they still take their time to explain who she is, making her remember of a Goddess similar but not quite like her called Despoina, the Shades ask who is that and she explains she was a Goddess of the underworld who’s name was translated to the mistress, one of the shades asks how she knows that if she knows Hades as Well, she then says “I only came to know about Hades way later, but i never heard of Persephone”, the Shade then responds “She hasn’t been called Despoina ever since the Mycenaean age, which was at least 1300 years ago, how old are you?!”, in turn makes Callie freeze as she realizes just for how long she has been alive, she remembers her parents mentioning Poseidon and other gods, but the more she thought, the more she realized certain concepts just didn’t exist anymore, before she fell deeper into her thoughts, Charon calls her attention by holding her cheek gently and showing her they’re already at the entrance.

She walked in with all the shades behind her, faintly hearing them comment on who exactly she is, if she was a new Goddess, a titan or any immortal being older than Hades himself, but she had a job to be done, and it was her first day at work, she couldn’t screw it up. Once at the desk Hades doesn’t look up and asks Callie to grab the scrolls containing their names and documentation, with the help of a shade she finds the room where the scrolls are and retrieves them with the help of another shade and walks back to Hades’ desk to see in first hand how the shades were judged.

Hades takes a look at the scroll and starts writing down another, “name and cause of death” “Dimitris, i died in a war between the south and the north parts of Greece” “interesting, any major event in your life that could be considered heroism?” “I killed the general of the south in order for my army to continue its trajectory towards the enemy camp”, Hades arched a eyebrow but didn’t say anything “i was also able to provide food for my comrades for us to survive but i was betrayed and killed by my own brother” “i see, you’ll go to tartarus” “what?!”, the shade couldn’t even defend himself, the furies appeared and he was promptly carried to the fields of torture, the kept going as most of the army was sent to Tartarus, only one shade was left, “name and cause of death” “umm….” “name!” “I’m Vassilis and I was killed by my comrades for betraying them! I ask for permission to go to tartarus with them” “permission denied, you’ll be going to the meadows reunite with your parents”, the shade didn’t spoke another word and thus he was guided by Callie, who was very unhappy with how the situation has turned sour and already seeing Hades as a unjust ruler to his people with his unfair treatment towards his subjects, even the shade was surprised by this but Callie couldn’t bring him to Tartarus as she had no idea on how to get there.

She came back and said in a demanding tone, “what in the name of Hera was that?!” “I was just doing my job” “well if that’s how you treat those that come here then i wish you know i will not collaborate with you when i come to your desk” “is that a threat?” “you sent 9 people to Tartarus, all they did was fight in the war, the first guy got food for them all and the last killed him! Do you see how backwards your logic is?!”, the lord of the dead stopped writing and rolled up the scrolls and gave them to Callie, “if i were you, i would give these scrolls a read before jumping into conclusions young lady, remember, you’re in my domain, and i can get you out of here whenever i feel like it, besides, i’m a God, i’m above your mortal logic, i’m just doing what my role requires me to do, i apologise that you’re unhappy, but that’s how it goes down here, now proceed, you still have more to do”, the woman was shocked by the treatment but continued on her way as she was asked to do so, or rather, ordered to do so, still feeling like what the lord of the dead did was unfair and uncalled for, it made her see why he was the villain in most tales in the surface, thus seeing death as the worst thing to happen to a mortal soul.

She got on the boat with Charon and with a sigh of curiosity, the lady spilled the beans “he treated them so unfairly, what if some wanted to see their children again? Or even their lovers who died before them?”, Charon replied with a sharp breath, “what do you mean i’m misjudging him? if you saw what i saw you would agree, oh wait, you’re a god as well, guess empathy is a mortal thing” Charon let out another sigh, but Callie didn’t reply. Once she was near the gate or Tartarus, she retrieved a bloody and heavy bag of human flesh, she could feel her stomach turning with all the smell and the feeling of the bag considering its contents, but now wasn’t the time to complain, or vomit, she needed to feed the three headed beast. Through a map that was given to her by Charon, she managed to find the place Cerberus rested so he could be feeded, she emptied the bag in a giant bowl and waited for the hellhound to appeared, in mere seconds the ground started to shake and loud barks and panting sounds were coming out of a cave, Callie distanced herself from the bowl and once she was in a much better location, the canine appeared in all of its greatness, shoving its face into the bowl while making some of the most disgusting sounds a dog can make during its meal, and it got worse once Callie realized that with thanks to Hades judgment some innocent people could have ended up as Cerberus’ food, making the girl throw out the little next to nothing of food she ate before she even got there, however this called the attention of the hound, more specifically of one of its heads that was already done with its meal, after sniffing her the head proceeded to lick her, first making her feel grossed out but soon she realized this wasn’t so bad and gave in to the slobbering form of affection, it still didn’t take away the thought that maybe innocent people were within the dog’s food, but she couldn’t blame the animal for it all, he was hungry and this was probably the best way to feed him, she said her goodbyes to the four legged good boy and went on her way to find Charon again so she could put the scrolls in place.

Callie was already feeling that her job was futile and overall, she felt worthless, the underworld was a-okay before her arrival and is not like she’s doing much, besides, she already bucked heads with her lord, and seeing as this was common since it is a routine, she guesses she’ll be fired soon, so she decides that the first thing she’ll do in her room is gather all of the stuff given to her and get out of the underworld, she doesn’t comment anything with Charon but her expression alone tells him she’s thinking of something that could be potentially dangerous for her all because he thinks she’s misjudging his superior, so he gets her attention again and points at the scrolls, reminding her to give them a read but she outright refuses and says she’ll place them where she thinks they should go rather than following Hades’ rules.

Once she finds herself in the documents room again, she ignores all the shades telling her where to place the scrolls and puts them in a meadows section saving it for two, the first of the first shade and the second of the last shade, to place them in the Elysium and Tartarus section respectively, however no matter what she does they simply don’t budget, as if they were meant to be in the places Hades wants them to be, this makes Callie give up and open the scrolls one by one to see why its contents are so important, but what she finds is unexpected. The Dimitris did kill the general for his army to continue but what he didn’t say was that the general was his own superior, not only that but the camp they were going to attack was of their own side, not the enemy camp, to top it all of, the food he provided to his comrades was the flesh of the general he killed, making him a cannibal as well as his comrades, and his brother that killed him did so because he was outright being forced to eat the general, once Vassilis refused Dimitris challenged him to a combat, Vassilis won but was later killed and cannibalized by the other cannibal warriors being led by Dimitris. The scrolls even went into detail about their life outside of the war, some had wives but abused them physically and psychologically, some went as far as to do the same with their children, and apparently to some the cannibalism was something that they already had done before, even to their own family members, making Callie realized just how wrong she was about her thoughts about the lord of the dead, she immediately thought about giving him some sort of apology before the feast, and upon a closer look to Vassilis’ scroll, she found the perfect reason to do so.

She ran to Hades’s desk and as he was about to get up and leave to go to his room, she appeared and called for his attention, “what is it miss?” “i noticed there was a error in one of the scrolls you copied, i wanted you to give me a second opinion and to maybe reconsider your judgment” “is it about the army I sent to Tartarus?” “no my lord, it’s about Vassilis, i believe he deserves a place in Elysium with his father” “interesting, what exactly called your attention?”, she then places the scroll on his desk and points to the paragraph that caught her eye, Hades analyses it, grabs his quill pen and writes it over the text with blue ink to correct his error, “is that really all you wanted me to correct?” “yes my lord, thank you...And i wanted to apologise” “no need for that miss, you come from a place where such thought is treated as a fact, and you aren’t the first to see me in such way as well, however i like that you came to a better conclusion about myself earlier than expected” “why didn’t you tell me beforehand?” “the chances of you believing empty words with no context would decline how much credit you would be willing to give to me, i would much prefer you to come to me with your new knowledge about me than having you hear only my words with no proof to my claims, now make your way to your room, soon the feast will begin” “will you join us?” “Sadly no, the judges will be getting a break, so I will be at the gates filling their role, have a great meal”, then he turns and walks away down the corridor.

At the grand table, Charon had reserved a seat for Callie, who he noticed was in a much better mood compared to how she was when they last saw each other, he tilts his head in curiosity and she says “i may have realized i misjudged our superior harshly, he’s more than what mortals think of him and, he’s not perfect, but he’s way better than the mortals on the surface, although i got him to correct a small error in a scroll”, Charon sighed, tilting his head to the other way to which Callie responded “i think someone who devoted himself to make the life of someone better even if it meant ruining his own is noble enough to be placed among heroes”.

In her room she prepared herself to sleep, she undid her braid, put on a much comfortable attire for the occasion and laid herself on the bed, thinking back how she thought life there would be difficult, but alas, she now thinks she’ll love it there.


	4. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some time has passed since Callie started to serve the Underworld, however she has kept a question that tormented her ever since her first day there.

The next few weeks had felt more peaceful than any other time in her life, it felt like it was the perfect life, she had a job that she learned to be good at, she had made meaningful connections with her peers, eventually calling them her friends, and she had a roof over her with a space to call her own, so her it was going great, but there was something that kept bugging her, everytime she picked up shades to be judge by Hades, she would hear about these fantastic tales of heroes she never heard of, demigods falling into their own hubris, mortals challenging the gods in numerous occasions, monsters tormenting local villages, things she never heard about, to make it all more complicated, she would also hear the names of various gods she didn’t know of, or she knew their names but also knew about their older versions, she knew that Hades is the lord of the underworld however was certain that role belonged to Poseidon, who was also head god at some point, and she would always get a similar response, “it hasn’t been that way for a long time”, making her ask herself just how long she has been alive, and if it was possible that she was more than a mortal.

During one of her trips to the entrance to the Underworld, she saw the familiar silhouette of the god of death, who she haven’t seen since their first proper encounter encounter on that cliff, she decided to take the opportunity and ask the deity how he was doing, only to receive a cold stare in return which made her back away to her post, with Charon sighing to her in consolation as a way to say this was the norm and that maybe if she were to talk to him about a more serious topic, perhaps Than would listen to her, making her have the idea to speak about her lifespan, he was the god of death so in a sense he would know who dies and who lives, but she would have to wait until the nightly feast.  
She thought about speaking to Hades about it too but seeing her lord work on his desk made her realise this could take a while.

After seeing 3 out of 7 shades being sent to Tartarus while the rest went to the meadows, she made her way to the chambers of Cerberus to serve his meal, and found a individual she has never seen before, a woman in a violet dress, with a black sheet over it, wearing a purple veil over her head along with something resembling a crown, the woman turned around and saw the young lady before her and gave her a welcoming smile, “greetings, you’re the mortal that is serving my husband currently, yes?” “y-yes, that’s me, and you are…?” “I’m Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, what’s your name?” “I’m Callie, it’s nice to meet you, your majesty”, the queen let out a giggle “the pleasure is all mine, i believe you’re here to feed Cerberus” “Yes!” “Then i hope you don’t mind my presence, Cerberus hates whenever i have to leave to the surface, so i make sure i give him all the attention necessary” “n-no your majesty! you can stay here for as long as you want! i-i mean the one that should be asking it’s me since this is your palace, but then again doing my job and” “slow and calm down”, “yes..sorry”, “no need to be, just do what you have to do” ''o-okay”. She dumped all the food for the hellhound on his bowl while the queen observed it all carefully with no interruption, the girl admitted it made her nervous but it was somewhat comforting, once she was done the ground started to shake and Cerberus appeared, with Persephone immediately walk closer to him while he ate, “you can stay with us if you wish to” “i would love to but, i have other chores that need to be taken care of” “that’s understandable, then i’ll see you at the feast” “sure thing my….Wait, i do have something to ask you, my liege” “go on” “Well, i assume that as queen of the Underworld you have a vast knowledge of this place and its concepts, am i correct?” “you’re right on your assumptions, even before i was married to Hades i had some understanding of what the Underworld meant as a concept, not sure how that was possible but i just knew” “i wanted to know more about myself, something about my lifespan doesn’t seem to match of a mortal, which made me ask if i’m human to begin with, is there a way for me to find out about this?” The queen of the Underworld looked up at Cerberus while thinking to herself about a possible answer, after a few seconds her expression changed and looked at Callie again, “there’s a way to get access to your scroll” “my scroll? You mean the ones the dead have that has a detailed document about their life that binds them to an area in the underworld?” “yes, there’s a way to get it while you’re still alive, however the only one that can do that to my knowledge is Thanatos, he’s the one that make them materialize so the shades can give it to Hades for him to copy them like the judges at the entrance” “i tried to start a conversation with him and it didn’t work” “if he’s here, it means he’ll be at the feast with his siblings, maybe you can get your chance there” “i see, thank you very much your majesty, i’ll be forever thankful” “i’m glad i could help you” the queen waved her goodbye and Callie did the same while walking out of the chamber, looking happier than before now that she got her answer, however he mood changed when she realized she had no idea on how to start a conversation with the god of death, their first meeting was anything ideal either, making her feel like the next time they meet it’ll be far away from ideal, at least it could be civil but still.

The nightly feast came and she prepared herself for the gathering, on her way she started to feel nervous, the ways this could all go wrong were endless, not just for herself but for Than and any other entity involved, ‘i can’t get stuck in what ifs and maybe’ she thought, ‘but i need to consider that i have little to no intimacy with the embodiment of death, what can i do aside from getting what i want?’, just as she was lost in her thoughts, her face stumbled on something, or someone, bigger than her, it was Hades himself, in a more casual attire but still remaining his figure of authority, “i’m so sorry my lord, i wasn’t looking where i was going”, the god seemed relaxed, if she had to guess, he was a good mood, his wife was there after all, “No need for such formality, at this hour i’m merely the host of the feast, but you seem lost, anything you’re seeking, miss Callie?”, she froze for a moment, for some reason hearing her name come out of his mouth was a big deal for her, but now wasn’t the time to feel honored that you’re in a closer relationship with your superior, she needed guidance, “I was thinking on how i should start up a conversation with Thanatos, there is something i want to know that only he knows….And i also want to know him better” “quite odd for a mortal to want to interact with death itself, but i can assist you, there is a place in the Underworld where Thanatos likes to spend time, he may not look like at first, but he’s a very passionate…..Entity once you get to know him better, so asking where his favorite spot is might be a great start” “i...I haven’t thought about it that way, does that work?” “you only live once, so there’s only one way to find out, if you want to take the risk that is” “hmmmm….I don’t know…..But i guess it doesn’t hurt to try, thank you my liege, i shall do my best for now on” “but do not force yourself so much, you have limits too” “Of course sir”, then he whispered in her ear and a plan started to form in her head.

The room was full, the many entities that populated the Underworld, including the monsters, gathered around in the giant dining hall with tables in its center to eat and talk about their day, the variety of food had increased as well thanks to the efforts of the queen to bring with her some fruits of her and her mother’s labour, there were roots, there were meats, there was practically everything a mortal would need and any god would want, a feast with togetherness and, despite what the place has the fame for it to be, harmony. She looked around and spotted the god of death with his siblings eating some kind of leaves with a piece of meat wrapped around a bone, he would put the spoon in his mouth and look at his family talk while staying silent and keeping his thoughts to himself. As per usual, Callie grabbed a plate and made her dish along with a beverage, then she walked near Charon, who saved a spot right next to his brother, and sat at the table to have a conversation with him, but tonight was going to be different, or so she hoped. Charon made a sign with his hand as to say “go for it”, she smiled and cleared her throat to call the attention of the god of death, but it was only after Charon coughed that he noticed her, “my apologies, i was too caught up in my thoughts” “that’s understandable, with the amount of times you travel to the surface you can end up getting very little time to dedicate it to yourself alone” she said in a somewhat fast and nervous motion, death raised an eyebrow and said “if there is something you want from me say it now, i’m leaving this place at midnight, sharp” “okay...so, cutting straight to the point….Are there any clusters of gemstones or geodes in the underworld?”He was silent for a good while, driving Callie into an almost panic but soon the god responded “yes, there are, why do you ask?” “well, there is something i wish to speak with you in private, if you’re available after the feast i can wait for you to finish your meal and talking to your family, unless you don’t wish to”, he looked at his glass of wine for a moment, analysed its contents while the woman grabbed hers and nervously sipped some of that fermented grape juice, the being of darkness sipped his as well before answering “certainly, if it’s important to you i might as well help you out” “Than...I mean, i’m glad you agreed to accompany me on this, i hope is not much of a hassle for you” “it isn’t, it’s still really early for me to take my leave and for you to continue on your shift” “yes of course”, the god turned and kept listening to what his brother Hypnos had to say while she talked with Charon about her day, but she was very glad she was possibly one step closer to answering one of the many questions she has about herself. 

Once she was finished with her meal, she noticed that Thanatos was absent and asked Hypnos where he went, he said he didn’t notice him getting out of the room which made Callie feel disappointed but she still said thank you to Hypnos and went on her way towards her room to rest, until a hand reached her shoulder, which she look over it, and saw Thanatos’ hand, “sorry for leaving without notice, i thought you were going to be done as soon as i was” “it’s alright, so...Where can i find gemstones here?” “i’ll lead the way, now hold on tight” And before she could even ask why, he scooped her up and held onto her before running towards a window to fly off, it scared her a bit but somehow, the literal embrace of death was comforting and warm, so it wasn’t that frightening to fly around the Underworld.

They landed near the entrance of a cave near not so far away from the palace, he gently placed Callie back on her feet as before stopping to float, he walked first but directed Callie to follow him, as she did they started to walk in a dark tunnel, when it got darker, Thanatos grabbed her hand so they wouldn’t get lost, finally they reach somewhere, it was bright as the morning sun, and colorful as a rainbow, it was a room with a river of lava with crystals hanging from the ceiling, poking out of some cracks on the walls and floor, but nothing could beat what was in its center, a giant geode of amethyst, shining in its full glory, you could even see multiple reflections of yourself on it, it was simply breathtaking. He looked over the rock formation with passionate eyes, as if it was the most beautiful thing he has even seen, Callie couldn’t blame him, it was a majestic scenery after all, so she let him enjoy the moment for a while before wanting to talk about the subject she wanted to discuss, “it’s really wonderful Thanatos, this place looks amazing” “there are more ways to describe it, but i agree with you” “is there a particular reason you enjoy it so much?” “.....I just think it’s a beautiful scenario to witness, not many people appreciate the hidden beauty that the Underworld has to offer, foolish mortals like you wish to never reach this place…..But enough about me, what was it that you wanted to discuss with me?” It took her some time to find the right words, but after some deep breaths she developed some courage and said, “it is about my mortality, my sense of time is a blur but i remember knowing certain concepts that don’t exist any longer, they were taught to me and i witnessed moments that don’t match the present anymore….What i’m saying, i think i’m too old to be considered a mortal, our majesties have claimed that what might be written in my scroll might clear out this doubt in my mind” “so you wish that i summon your scroll to know why that seems to be the case?” She nodded in response, “very well, but i inform you, the process to get your scroll is….Painful, specially since you’re still alive, mortal or not, it’ll cause damage to you, you still want to take that risk?” “If it is what i have to do to answer my questions, then so be it” “if that’s your wish, consider it granted” And then it happened, he touched her forehead and an enormous amount of pain came in the form of a headache, her legs went limp and she fell, holding her head as Thanatos proceed to slowly remove the scroll out her head, once it was fully out, she felt as if most of her energy was taken away from her body, she was weakened, shivering in the sudden cold but sweating with the heat, Thanatos took it upon himself and covered her with his cloak.   
After what felt like hours, Callie regained consciousness and the headache had ceased to exist, she saw the God of death before her, reading her scroll with a surprised look on his face, “what did you find?” “Miss Callie, i believe i have found the reason you remember so much despite your age” “what is it then?” “You’re no mortal Callie...You’re a goddess”.


End file.
